Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 91864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
After I put my car in park, I checked my phone to see a text from Ethan: Be there in fifteen.
He’d sent the message five minutes earlier, so it wouldn’t be long. I’d learned Ethan was prompt, and if he was going to be late, he tended to overestimate how long it would take him rather than underestimate it. Lee was the exact opposite, and it bugged the shit out of me.
I got out of my car and headed through the parking lot, toward the restaurant, which had a line forming out the back, making me relieved that I’d called to make reservations.
As I passed through the row of cars next to mine, I noticed a woman standing beside her van, talking to a girl whose legs hung off the side of the back seat. The girl couldn’t have been more than five years old. Tears ran down her face while the woman, who I guessed was her mother, held a crying baby in her arms—one she tried to soothe along with the girl.
She sighed, the bags under her eyes and the worn expression on her face assuring me that she was overwhelmed by the situation. Like she was a few seconds away from throwing her arms in the air and surrendering.
I approached, keeping my distance to gauge the mother’s reaction before barging in and potentially annoying the crap out of her.
“Hey, there, princess,” I told the little girl. “Why so sad?”
The mom turned to me, and I offered her a friendly smile, which she returned, but with it, I could see her exhaustion and frustration.
“She left her teddy back home,” the woman said before turning her attention back to the girl. “I’m sorry, pumpkin. I meant to grab it before we left.”
“Looks like you have your hands full,” I told her.
She chuckled and rolled her eyes. “Tell me about it.”
I felt bad for her. She was clearly there by herself, and she needed a hand.
I directed my attention to her daughter.
“Your teddy’s going to be waiting for you at home just the same,” I said. “What’s your name?”
“Twila,” the girl replied quietly.
“Twila, that’s such a pretty name. Maybe Teddy isn’t here, but I can be your friend too. My name’s Sean.”
“Hi, Sean.”
“Do you guys come to this restaurant a lot?”
Twila shook her head.
“It’s our first time,” the mother said. “We’re meeting my sister here.”
“Oh, first time? Well, you’ll really like it, Twila. They have a kid’s menu that you can draw on. They give you some crayons, and there’s a special ice cream with whipped cream.” I turned to her mom. “She’s not diabetic or anything, right?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t making promises I couldn’t keep.
She laughed. “No. Thank you for asking, though.”
“Can I have ice cream?” Twila asked her mom.
“Oh, pumpkin. Of course you can.”
The baby started to calm down as well, and the mother sighed, clearly relieved. “Thank you,” she told me.
“It’s not an issue at all. You looked like you were a little overwhelmed.”
“That’s an understatement. My name’s Mary, by the way. I’d shake your hand, but I’m lucky he’s being this quiet right now. He’s been having some acid reflux issues recently, and we’ve tried everything to get them to clear up, but we haven’t had any luck.”
“You might try adding a little aloe vera to his milk. My brother had a similar issue when he was a kid. Mom spent months trying to find a solution. Saw several doctors and even some nutjob psychic because she was so desperate. A friend she met through work recommended aloe vera in the bottle, mixed with some formula. A few weeks later, the issue cleared up. She swears by the stuff now. You should Google it.”
“Thank you for that,” Mary said. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to take up your time.”
“I’m meeting my guy here, and he’s running a little behind, so it’s better to have company while I wait, right?”
“This company really appreciates it.”
“Mom, I want ice cream,” Twila whispered, tugging at the skirt Mary wore.
Mary laughed. “Just one second. Aunt Ellie isn’t here yet, so we can chat with Sean a little longer.”
“Can Sean eat with us?”
“No, Twila. Sean has his own company he’s meeting here.”
“I’ll swing by your table and say hi,” I told Twila. “How about that?”
Twila beamed like nothing I said could’ve made her happier. “Okay.” She pulled on Mary’s hand. “Come on, Mom. Come on!”
She let go of Mary’s hand before sliding off the seat and hurrying around me.
“Twila!” Mary shouted, her face switching from relieved to panic in an instant.
I turned around to grab her daughter, but she was fast…so fast she’d already passed two of the parked cars.
I chased after her as she passed a long bed truck. Just on the other side of the truck, a van turned and sped into the entryway to the lot. Considering how fast it was moving, there was no way the driver was going to be able to stop in time, even if the driver saw Twila.